Taking the Next Step

Have you ever felt like you need to make a change and don’t know where to start? In this episode I talk with Ashley Howell, a past challenge winner and mom of two. Learn how to move past the hesitancy to take the next step and the strategies and tricks that worked for her in making a lasting lifestyle change! 

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SPEAKER_01 0:01

Are you looking for a space where you will learn to improve your mental strength, emotional health, and feel your insecurities from the inside out? Is the first step to lead a more meaningful life with a better meeting with five by three podcasts? I'm your both great. I'm a third side personal trainer, entrepreneur, and mother of three. I've helped empower thousands of women to take action through fitness, nutrition, meditation, personal development, and aligning thoughts with actions. This podcast is for those who are ready to feel inspired and motivated to live a more purposeful life. Let's go together. Have you ever felt stuck when you start something new like a challenge or a weight loss program and you don't know how to stay motivated? Well, I have the winner of my last summer challenge with me. Her name is Ashley, and she's going to share all her tips on how she lost the weight and kept it off for good. Ashley Hal is a mother of two. She's 34 years old and she lives in Oregon. She won the last eight-week Body Bible Summer Challenge, and she did home workouts, which is even more impressive. And she loves the rodeo. She's a cowgirl at heart, and I can't wait for you to learn from her. All right, Ashley, welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited you're here. Thank you for joining us. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Just honored to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Well, I'm honored because Ashley was the winner of our summer challenge last year, and I was really inspired by her story. So I thought that I'd bring her on the podcast to share with you what she learned to overcome her plateaus and loss of motivation and really something that all clients will go through and anyone trying to change their lifestyle will go through. And then just kind of share what clicked for her that made her shift her perspective to create lasting lifestyle change. So, Ashley, tell us a little bit about yourself and your background before we begin.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

Yeah. So I'm 34 years old. Um, the time I started the challenge, um, I had just turned 34. I have two kiddos. Um little girl, little boy. Um, my son at the time was a year and a half. So still kind of struggling with the, you know, losing the baby weight. And um, you know, summer had just hit. So I felt like I was eating a little bit more at barbecues and drinking a little bit more at barbecues and um, you know, just not didn't have a very healthy lifestyle, um, definitely not living to my full potential. Um, and I was kind of at the time I started just kind of sick and tired of being sick and tired. Um, I knew that um it wasn't gonna take a ton to make myself better. But if I just took that one step, that um it would open up a lot of opportunities for me. Um and uh I think I talked to you about this before, but I had had um that challenge kind of sitting in the cart, like and just looking at it over and over again. Um and I was, you know, I was just like, okay, if I'm gonna, if I'm gonna do this, like I really want to commit to it. So yeah, I was just, I was really, really ready. I was in a spot where I was really ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

That's awesome. I love that. Okay, I feel like what you just described is what most of my clients are when they start. It's like they just know I could be, you know, doing more, I could feel better. I'm not living up to my full potential, and they want a change. And so I feel like that's why you're so relatable. So can you, before we get started, I kind of want them, I want you to share with us your results and what you really learned from the challenge and what your takeaways were.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Yeah. Um, so I mean, I I knew going into it, if I put the work into it, um, you know, as far as the workouts go, that um obviously I would see in in the you know, good diet and everything, I would see the results physically. But um, what I posted over and over again and wrote um in our in our weekly bi-weekly check-ins was I didn't realize this like mental health aspect was um such a huge part of it. And for me, those were the such drastic um results. Like it just really honestly kind of changed my life. Um I was struggling, this was like mid um pandemic. So I was really struggling like everybody else was um, you know, young kids, how is this gonna affect my family? We had a family member pass away. Um, you know, it just was like I felt like I was just in this rat race. Um, and then on top of it, I'm trying to protect my family against this, you know, unknown disease and this, and you know, being a mom. And my daughter at the time um was going through some issues with her hearing, and it just was one thing after another, and I felt like everything was just kind of spiraling out of control. Um, and so for me, it was just so grounding. Um, I had grown up, I I call it like I was raised by cowboys. And so, like the motto I was always taught was when it going gets tough, the tough get going. And there was never really this um discussion about um mental health. Um, to me, it was almost kind of scary. It was like, oh, we don't go there, you don't have mental health issues, you know, that's for you know, other people, kind of quote unquote. And so um, but it it's a real thing. Like if you don't take the time to just really sit down and center yourself, which is what the meditation piece um of the challenge really taught me, um you're you're gonna spiral out of control. Um, and I feel like it just gave me that time to really sit down, to center myself. I um I'm a spiritual, spiritual person, so I, you know, it brought God back into my life. Um, and so I feel like it just really I it gave me a moment to breathe. It gave me a moment to center myself, to um think about the things in my life that were so wonderful, and um, you know, that things around me, yeah, even though the world kind of felt like it was a fall it was falling apart, things around me were still really, really good and really um I had good people in my life and I had a lot of things to be grateful for. And so um it just gave me a such a such a good chance to get back to um you know looking at the positive aspects of life.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

I love that because I feel like when you're trying to change from a positive place, it's so much more powerful than doing it from a place of hate or resentment or I have to change my body or I don't like where I'm at. But when you start with that base of positivity and gratitude and centered, how much more powerful are you when you do that, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Absolutely, yes.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

I love that. I love that you shared that. And what were some of your physical results that you had?

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Um, physically, I felt like um less bloating, like that was one of my major issues. And I got right on top of taking your fish oil and the um protein and the digestive enzymes and the probiotics. Um and I felt like um it it was this amazing kind of like right after the first workout, even where you, you know, maybe you hop out of the shower or something, and I would be like, man, I feel like I can even see results just after one, you know, but um my clothes fit better. I felt like I had more energy. I could wrestle on the ground with my kids. Um, I played a lot of sports growing up as a kiddo, and so now I feel like, you know, you hit that like mid 30s age and all those um, all those, you know, injuries as a teenager that you kind of suffered through start to creep back in and everything, aches and this and that, you know. And so um I felt those kind of go away. Um, I've had like some issues with my back, like riding horses doesn't help that at all. And I felt that go away. I was just all around stronger. Um and it just boosts my self-confidence. Like I, you know, you that feeling that you get after you really commit yourself to a workout. Um, yeah, so the physical transformation, I just feel like it it was just so um inspiring because the harder I worked, the easier it got um as far as the daily workouts went. And I just saw so much of a transformation um with my energy levels, and um, I just all around physically felt better.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Like the aches and pains and yeah, and your before and afters were insane. Like you won. You won because of your before and afters, like your the mental was a bonus because we went solely off of your pictures, so your body completely changed, like you looked like a different person. It was really cool to see. Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

I just always and when people ask me about it and they want to see pictures and stuff, I show you know, obviously, I'm showing them the pictures, but I just want to reiterate like you had talked about this a lot too. Like that the pictures of mine were only four pounds different. So the scale does not mean everything. Like I was not afraid for it. It was like, you know, what you had taught us and talked about as far as like focusing on scale and how toxic that can be. Um, I wanted to build muscle and I knew that you know, muscle it's gonna show up on the scale, but it's a it's good. Like I and I think that my pictures showed that. So for sure, you know, don't that would that's one of the things that I just like really try to um encourage other women with is it's not it's not all about the scale. Like, you know, that was a four-pound difference, and what I I'm like half the human almost.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Yeah, it's in those pictures. It's crazy. So I'm gonna um when we post this podcast, I'll highlight your before and after so people can see the difference that'll be done for them. So I wanted I did want to ask. So these are all the amazing things about your experience, but did you have stories or experiences where you hit a wall and you wanted to quit?

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Oh, yes. Um, so I was I had spoken earlier about having a one and a half year old. Um, I should mention he's the sweetest guy in the world, but he is the world's worst sleeper. Um and my time to work out yes, it was in the morning. Um, that was like when I felt like I could get up and be productive and get my workout done, meditate and just have that quiet time. Um, because my my workouts were at home. Um, I live in a super small town, we don't have a gym. Um, and it just with my husband's work schedule and everything, it wasn't uh my work schedule, it wasn't feasible to get out to one. So um when he and I'm talking like he would be up all night. Um, and so getting up, you know, at 5 30 to get up, that's when I would, you know, get up and do my workouts. That was probably the hardest because then it would, if I if I didn't do it, I would feel like this rush and kind of panic throughout the day and like this, you know, thought everybody has those thoughts creep in where like I'm gonna fail, I'm not gonna be able to finish. Um, you know, and so it was just like again, and just kind of you have to center yourself, you have to come up with a plan B, a plan C. When am I gonna be able to work out? Okay, maybe I'm gonna cook my family dinner, and then I'm gonna sneak off while you know the kids are eating with my husband and do my workout. Maybe I won't get to the cardio that day, maybe I won't get to the bonus that day, but you know what, at least I finished my workout. Like it just that feeling of and just you know that you will feel better. Like even if you, you know, there were mornings where Cody wouldn't sleep at all, it's my son, and I rolled out of bed and I thought, you know what? Even if I have one eye open while I'm doing the first set, like I know I'm gonna wake up, I know I'm gonna feel better after I do it. And um, I I just really it got to the point where I thought, like, this is the only thing that I do for myself all day is this challenge. This is the only thing. And why am I selling myself short?

SPEAKER_01 12:45

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

So so do you think that's a good thing? Yeah, I mean, that that was hard.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

You feel like that, like what made you push through? Like what made you keep going? Was it that? Like, what was your why?

SPEAKER_00 12:56

My why was it it's like fairly deep. So I had been around um and like heard stories and had been around recently at some at that time, someone who um was paralyzed, wasn't able to use their almost entire body. Um, and so that was I I just like that was kind of the final push for me. Like it was like, I can use my body. How would I feel? I remember like watching one of your stories on Instagram, and I just thought, like, how would I feel if being an athlete and riding horses and all these things that I did being so active um growing up, if all of a sudden those things were taken away from me? Um, and why am I not utilizing that now? And so my why was it was kind of like a why not. Like, I God gave me this body, I'm I'm able-bodied, I can move my arms, I can move my legs, why am I not taking care of myself? It's it's really so easy when it when you, you know, just sit down. It's fairly simple. Like it's you know, if you can focus on eating well, if you can focus on just moving your body, maybe you don't get out and lift weights that day, but if you can just move your body, you're doing so much for yourself, um, especially being a woman all around. Um, you know, there's all there's so many different studies now today. Um, they talk about, um, you know, I talked a lot about it my with you. I talked a lot about um and my she's sorry, you can edit that out. I talked a lot about uh my story with anxiety um and you know, just how much there's random studies now today that are showing people that um exercise alone is more beneficial than um prescriptions and therapy combined for anxiety depression.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

So yes, and the endorphins that you get.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Yeah, why do we not talk about that? So yeah, so I you know I kept going, and what made me keep going was again, if this is the this is the only thing that I do for myself. Uh again, God gave me this body, I'm able-bodied, I can move, I can do it. So why am I not? I love that. Why am I not taking care of myself?

SPEAKER_01 15:13

Yes. I love that. So what advice would you give someone who's just starting out on the program or um they're on their own weight loss journey? What would you, what advice would you give them?

SPEAKER_00 15:27

Um I you talked a lot about the all or nothing mentality. Um, and that really, that really hit home with me. I, again, just kind of like the way I was raised. Um, it was just like I felt like everything was just go, go, go, 100 miles an hour. You know, you better put your heart and soul into it and this and that. And I I there were seasons in my life where I couldn't do that. Um, and I was really good at making myself feel kind of like a failure because I hadn't and I wasn't supporting myself. I didn't have good self-talk. Um, and so I feel like when you're starting out on a journey, you have to recognize the season of life you're in. Um, are there, you know, kind of do all the stars align for you at that moment? Maybe it's not the right time to do this challenge, or maybe it's not the right time to enter in um, you know, both a physical and nutritional and mental health challenge. Maybe you start with one. Um and so entering into your challenge, like I said, I was really ready. But um for instance, I didn't overdo it as far as like um, I did do, you know, towards the end of the challenge, I was doing the bonus and I was doing the full amount of cardio, but I didn't start that way. Right. Um I started the first week just walking because I knew I was gonna be out of shape. I knew my body was gonna hurt. Um, I picked one meal a day um during the education week where I was like, okay, I'm gonna really focus on my macros, which I had done before. Um, so I had a little bit of experience on my fitness pal. But um I, you know, so I eased my way into it. I didn't actually start the bonus um and the cardio until I think like week three or four. And I eased into that as well. Like maybe I would just do one set of the bonus, or maybe I only did 20 minutes of the cardio or 10 minutes of the cardio.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

So just doing what you can where you can. I love that.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Yeah, yeah. Just easing into it. Uh you know, and absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

Yeah, you don't have to be perfect all the time. That's what is exactly the the fall of most of most people who want to lose weight is they're trying to be perfect to everything at one time. And so I love you gave yourself permission to do it in you know, seasons like that and and just throw the keys into that and listen to your body.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

So yeah, and I yeah, I started in the summer. Um, so you know, we all have you know fun little barbecues to go to here and there. So I didn't beat myself up if I, you know, maybe was off of my macros or you know, had something like a piece of cake or something like that. You know, you just get going, you know, like the next meal, the next workout, you just keep going.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

I love that. So, what do you wish that you could go back and tell your previous self before you'd made all of these changes?

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Not to be so hard on myself. I I was like even going into the challenge, um, you know, I was beating myself up just like you know, have it like I said, I was oh sorry, I was rambling. Um not to be so hard on myself. Um, and I think, you know, starting off with the challenge, I you know, I let it sit there in my cart and are you gonna commit to it? Are you gonna, you know, completely do it? Are you gonna uh put your heart and soul into it, you know? Um there's gonna be times where, you know, like even in the continuation, um, you know, but during the challenge, like there's gonna be a day where I was so tired because I was up with my son and I didn't do the workout that morning, or maybe I postponed my Monday workout to Saturday. Um, you know, and so I I feel like especially as women, especially as mothers, um, you know, it having to kind of all this pressure that's on you to perform. Um I wish I wouldn't have been so hard on myself. I wish I would have told myself, like, you know, you can do this, you can be successful at this without it. Was like I always had this guilt in the back of my mind that if I wasn't setting, if I was doing something like for myself, I was taking away time from my family. Um, and I think that's about it.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

You're filling your cup so you can be the best version of yourself for your family.

SPEAKER_00 20:00

Like that's I really was like absolutely. And I tell my you know, friends, family, everybody. I had a couple people contact me and say, like, you totally inspired me. I signed up for the next challenge, or I'm counting my macros now, or I'm getting out and you know, moving this and that. And I really was the best version of myself I felt like I had ever been in my entire life after I was done with the challenge, and even during the challenge.

SPEAKER_01 20:28

Yeah. That's amazing. Um, you it was, it was awesome. And you kept saying, like, I wonder if you know, if I can do this, is it gonna be worth it? And you sat there forever having it in your cart. Um, yes. So do you feel like it was worth it? Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

Yeah. So like I know it's an investment. Over and over again. Yeah, but you know, if you think about um, if you think about like how much you, you know, spend kind of frivolous frivolously here and there, it's really not like this is your health. Like um, your program helped me balance my hormones, it helped me with inflammation in my body, I was eating cleaner, um, I felt better. I was going through, you know, I was kind of on like a mentally like anxiety kind of spiral. Um, it brought center back into my life, it brought Jesus back into my life, it brought, you know, so many wonderful things and and meditation alone and just moving my body. And it, I mean, there it's such a well-rounded program. And I feel like um it's just so, so worth it. It is not that much money, and it is so, so worth it. Um, and the support you have, like you, you know, get everybody together, the BBB babes. Um, it's just really such a wonderful thing for women, and I feel like. Like, um, I wish everybody would just take the time to invest in it and just invest in themselves.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

That's awesome. That's, I mean, it's so hard to convey to people. I'm like, you don't understand. This isn't like a $10 subscription app, like that you can just get workouts. I'm like, it's so much more. It's almost like a life coaching program, you know, like to help you transform spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally. Like, because I want it to be a full transformation, a holistic transformation from the inside out. So I love that that worked for you and that it really did that for you, and that you saw the value and that you put it to the test and you worked on it, and it really did help change your life. Like this, you have told me so many times. It's life-changing and it's so rewarding to hear that. So, my last question is Have you been able to keep up the habits and the lifestyle that you had since you won the challenge?

SPEAKER_00 23:00

I have. Um, I'd be a liar if I said that I was as consistent as I was in the eight weeks because, like I said, there's seasons. Um, but I feel like even saying that, you know, I that was one of the things that I learned in the challenge. I could give myself grades. We're gonna go through seasons where things don't line up. Um, I have a super, you know, we're a very physically active lifestyle. Um, and so there's days where, you know, if I'm gonna go, you know, if we're gonna we're gonna go team rope or we're gonna go bucket or something, that's my like cowgirl, you know, that's my red knife lifestyle. Like it's probably not gonna be the best scenario for me to do shoulders or triceps or lift weights that day because my arms are gonna feel a little dead, you know. But um, yeah, I mean, I I still make the same recipes. Um I try to hit my continuation challenge.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Yeah, you've been kind of able to keep that lifestyle going.

SPEAKER_00 24:02

Absolutely. And if there's one thing I make sure I do, I meditate. Um I meditate and I move my body. Yeah, absolutely. I feel like um when I don't meditate, oh my gosh, I can and I I you guys, I started out, I never even I thought that was like, you know, I it I thought it was a little woo, to be honest. I did I had no idea how to even do it. I had no idea. Um and just like you know, through your program, I was like, wow, this is this is amazing. Like I'm breathing, I'm not holding my breath anymore. I have a plan for the day, and maybe my plan is to not have a plan, but it's you know, uh it was just so such a release, and so um absolutely continuing. There are things that I will never ever let go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:53

Well, and that's kind of what I pride myself in is I'm like, this is not a you know 30-day shred. Like, this is a absolutely way to have you change your entire perspective on how you see health and fitness. And so I hope that that sticks with people. And like the majority of my clients, they when they lose it, they keep it off because it's not an extreme diet, it's something you can do forever. And it's like things you can implement into your life forever. And so I love to check in on clients like, yeah, they lost the weight and they kept it off. That's not like keto where you lose it and then you gain it back plus 10 pounds. You know, that's not what it's what this is. And so I love to hear that you've kept up on those habits, that you've really been able to make it a lifestyle change. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Absolutely. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Ashley, you're amazing. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Um, where can we Oh honored? Yeah, do you well? I guess your Instagram is private, so people probably wouldn't go follow you. But I will post your before and after so people can see your amazing um transformation for sure.

SPEAKER_00 26:02

Oh, please do, yes.

SPEAKER_01 26:04

Okay, thank you so much for joining us. I will talk to you later, Ashley.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

Thank you. Thank you guys.

SPEAKER_01 26:10

Bye. Thank you for joining us in today's episode. If you liked the content and want to hear more, remember to hit that subscribe button and write a review. As a small business owner, I appreciate it more than you know. If you are looking for a program to help with self-confidence, to lose weight, get in shape, and work on your mental, physical, and emotional health. Check out my training programs on www.bodyby.com. My team and I help to hold you accountable through the Body Bybrie app, where you log in to see all your workouts, custom meal plan made specifically for you and your needs, and communication through the messenger. You are never alone when you're on the Body by Bree training program. Click the link in the show notes to get more information on how to transform your life from the inside out.